Community Movie nights usually take place as stand alone events. A few have been presented as part of David Sunfellow’s NDE classes. Here is a quick list of some of the movies we have watched together…

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Groundhog Day

Probably the best movie ever made that illustrates the core truths presented by near-death experiences — namely, that we are here, in this world, to love one another and that we can’t wake up from the dream of life until we have learned the lessons we came here for.

Snowed in during a trip to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the annual Groundhog Day festivities, television weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) finds himself stuck in time, endlessly repeating February 2nd. His world is inhabited by the same people every day, but they don’t know Groundhog Day is repeating itself. That gives him a certain advantage: He can find out what a woman is looking for in a man, and then the “next” day behave in exactly the right way to impress her. Luckily there is a woman closeby to practice on. She’s Rita (Andie MacDowell), Phil’s long-suffering producer, who has had to put up with his tantrums, demands and surliness. Gradually Phil is able to see the error of his ways and improve his behavior until, finally, a Groundhog Day dawns when she finally likes him.

Ahead of its time, this one of the first movies made about near-death experiences. The movie does a beautiful job dramatizing the struggles, loneliness, misunderstanding, and religious intolerance that many near-death experiencers have had to deal with. According to Ellen Burstyn, the first script for the movie centered around Jesus Christ coming back to Earth as a woman. Considering how much near-death experiences have in common with the life and teachings of Jesus, this was another way the movie was ahead of its time!

Resurrection is a 1980 film which tells the story of a woman who survives the car accident and discovers that a near-death experience has given her the power to heal other people. Ellen Burstyn delivers a tour-de-force performance as the modern-day miracle in this unforgettable story. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Sam Shepard, Richard Farnsworth, Roberts Blossom and Eva LeGallienne. The movie was nominated for two Academy Awards; one for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Ellen Burstyn) and another for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Eva LeGallienne). For more information about this movie, including Ellen Burstyn’s description of how the movie came to be made, go here. To watch the movie online, click here ( 903 MB – 1 hour, 43 minutes long).

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The Other Son

“The Other Son” is the moving and provocative tale of two young men — one Israeli, the other Palestinian — who discover they were accidentally switched at birth, and the complex repercussions facing them and their respective families. For more information, go here.

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Kumare: The True Story of a False Prophet

This movie was played during one of David Sunfellow’s NDE classes. It dramatically illustrates the dark side of eastern religions, the gullibly of believers, and the power of suggestion and belief. It also raises a host of important issues surrounding honesty and inappropriately using people to pursue hidden agendas.

Kumare is a wise guru from the East who indoctrinated a group of followers in the West. Kumare, however, is not real — he is the alter ego of American filmmaker Vikram Gandhi, who impersonated a spiritual leader for the sake of a social experiment designed to challenge one of the most widely accepted taboos: that only a tiny “1%” can connect the rest of the world to a higher power. Concealing his true identity from everyone he meets, Kumare forges profound and spiritual connections with people from all walks of life. At the same time, in the absurdity of living as an entirely different person, Vikram, the filmmaker, is forced to confront difficult questions about his own identity. At the height of his popularity, Kumare unveils his true identity to a core group of disciples who are knee-deep in personal transformation. Will they accept his final teaching? Can this illusion reveal a greater spiritual truth? KUMARE, at once playful and profound, is an insightful look at faith and belief.

This movie was played during one of David Sunfellow’s NDE classes. It dramatically illustrates the dark side of eastern religions, the gullibly of believers, and the power of suggestion and belief. It also raises a host of important issues surrounding honesty and inappropriately using people to pursue hidden agendas.

Derren Brown teaches an ordinary British citizen how to adopt the guise of a pastor and miracle worker. After six months of learning the trade, “Pastor James Collins” sets sail for America. With a camera crew documenting all aspects of the adventure, Paster James performs faith healing miracles live in Texas. For more information, click here.

Based on a true story, we watched this movie to set the stage for a serious discussion about what forgiving other human beings really means.

The peaceful Amish community of Nickel Mines is forever changed when a gunman senselessly takes the lives of five girls in a schoolhouse shooting before taking his own life. What transpires afterward takes the community by storm, as the media descend on the town and criticize its Amish leaders for their notion of unconditional forgiveness of the shooter and their outreach of support to his widow, Amy Roberts. Devastated by her daughter’s death, Ida Graber finds herself struggling with her community’s belief in the transcending power of forgiveness. Deeply conflicted and unable to forgive the gunman and his family, Ida is tempted to leave the only life she’s ever known before re-embracing her faith. To watch the movie online, click here.

About Jesus Before Christianity

“I looked up and I saw this light; it wasn’t a normal light, it was different. It was luminescent. And it grew. I kept looking at it like, ‘What is that?’ Then it grew large and I went into it.

“I went into this tunnel, and I came into this room that was just beautiful. God held me, He called me by name, and He told me, ‘Mary Jo, you can’t stay.’ And I wanted to stay. I protested. I said, ‘I can’t stay? Why not?’ And I started talking about all the reasons; I was a good wife, I was a good mother, I did 24-hour care with cancer patients.

“And He said, ‘Let me ask you one thing -- have you ever loved another the way you’ve been loved here?’ And I said, ‘No, it’s impossible. I’m a human.’ And then He just held me and said, ‘You can do better.’ ”

– NDEr Mary Jo Rapini, describing her near-death experience

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“Many events in my life I experienced, but not from how I remembered it, but from the point of view… [of] how the people, animals, environment experienced it around me. I felt it as my own. The times I had made others happy, and sad, I felt it all as they did. It was very apparent that every single thought, word, and action affects everything around us and indeed the entire universe. Trees, plants, animals too. I have been a long-term vegetarian since about 18 years old and I know this was appreciated and is a good choice in life. Spiritually it seemed to show proof of respect for all life, and even seemed to balance some of the negative and wicked things I have done in my life. In the life review we judge ourselves; no one else does. The light/god did not. But with no ego left — and no lies — we can’t hide from what we have done and feel remorse and shame, especially in the presence of this love and light. Some of the things in life we think of as important don’t seem to be so important there. But some of the insignificant things from the material human perspective are very important spiritually.”

– NDEr Justin U describing his near-death experience on the Near Death Experience Research Foundation website

“I’m not asking you to believe anything. I’m simply telling you what I believe. And I have no idea what the next life will be like. Whatever I saw was only from the doorway, so to speak. But it was enough to convince me totally of two things from that moment on: One, that our consciousness does not cease with physical death; that it becomes, in fact, keener and more aware than ever. And secondly, that how we spend our time on earth, the kind of relationships we build, is vastly more important than we can know.”

– NDEr George G. Ritchie, M.D.

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“He (Allah) had Christians in Paradise. Moslems in Paradise. Jews in Paradise. And people who had no recognizable faith in God. We need to learn that…”

– Electa, a Moslem woman, describing what she saw in her near-death experience

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“Unlike spiritual paths that arose from the ideas and inner experiences of lone, isolated human beings, the path presented by near-death experiences is emerging as a direct, grassroots revelation that millions of people from all over the world are receiving and sharing. If we explore this newly emerging path deeply enough, we discover that all religions, philosophies, and cultures are honored; that science and spirituality are celebrated; that both the human and spiritual side of our natures are cherished and embraced. In short, near-death experiences present us with a universal, all-inclusive, perfectly integrated spiritual path that revolves around three core truths: 1. We are all one 2. Love is the essence of life 3. We are here, in this world, to become perfect embodiments of the Divine.”

“To dwell on the nature of the afterlife may divert us from paying attention to THIS life, where the lessons from the Light need to be practiced… The true promise of the NDE is not so much what it suggests about an afterlife -- as inspiring and comforting as those glimpses are -- but what it says about how to live NOW… to learn from NDErs about how to live, or how to live better, with greater self-awareness, self-compassion, and concern for others. Live well, and death will take care of itself.”